Professor recommends raising taxes on non-married individuals

Terdsak Chomtosuwan, an economics professor from Rangsit University, has asked the government to consider encouraging Thais to bear more children by collecting a “single tax” and “no children tax.”

The Kingdom’s low fertility rate of only 1.6 children per household could result in a lack of labor in the future, Terdsak warned. 

The academic also said that the Thai economy’s boom as well as the attractiveness of a city lifestyle, which encourages youngsters to work rather than settle down, is contributing to the issue. Many families, according to Terdsak, are choosing to have only one child because of the increasing cost of intuitions, hospitality and food.

He added the government should encourage Thais to bear more children by having a “first child policy,” which would reduce taxes for families with more than one child.  The shortfall could be made up by single people and families without children, Terdsak said.

Currently, 10 percent of Thailand’s population is senior citizens. In the next ten years, that number is expected to rise to 20 percent, the Daily News reported.



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